Microssociedades afegãs no contexto dos embates Leste-Oeste (1977-1983): discursos e representações no The Kabul Times

Abstract

The production of discourses and representations, by the media, about Afghanistan tends to spread stereotypes that ignore the complexities of Afghan microsocieties, these understood as ethnic groups, relatively autonomous capable of rivaling nation projects with the central power, according to the conception of Amin Saikal. Understanding this Asian country is necessary for comprehending the interests in disputes of the great economic and military powers during the period of the East-West clashes, between the years 1977 to 1983, especially the United States and the Soviet Union, and also to break with Orientalism as formulated by Said. In this sense, the dissertation is proposed to approach not only the armed conflicts that involved the Soviet Invasion in Afghanistan, but above all, in the representations and the ideological disputes of narratives disseminated by the periodical The Kabul Times. The analysis of this source, through what is conventionally called key events selected from the researches of Amin Saikal and Hammond, makes it possible to break with reductionist conceptions of passivity of microsocieties in the face of the coups and countercoups that followed the fall of Zahir Shah's reign, demonstrating its fundamental role in cultural, social, political and economic resistance. Discourse analysis techniques were used, through the theoretical-methodological contributions of Chartier, Bourdieu and Charaudeau. This research undertook efforts to deconstruct narratives of submission by Afghan microsocieties disseminated in The Kabul Times, demonstrating their performance in Afghanistan, contesting the hegemonic state discourses, by opposing the Agrarian and Educational Reform in the Taraki government, as they contradict their interests and traditions, action also verified in the massacre of Herat where the microsocieties joined the local garrisons. The active participation of microsocieties can also be seen in the organizations of resistance and national liberation groups, the mujahideen, who opposed the Soviet invasion.